The counts palatine of Tübingen are among the greatest Swabian houses: Tübingen castle above the Neckar, the Schönbuch round the family abbey of Bebenhausen (founded about 1183 as their burial place, Cistercian since 1190), Herrenberg and Horb, and through Rudolf's wife the Gleiberg inheritance at Gießen in Hesse.
Rudolf dies in 1219.
Who he is
- Name
- Rudolf I
- Title
- Count palatine (Pfalzgraf) of Tübingen, the palatine count of Swabia
- Since
- 1182, on the death of his father Hugo II (not stated in the source used; inferred)
- Born
- About 1160
- Family
- Married 1181 Mechthild of Gleiberg, heiress of Gießen (died 1206). Six children, among them Rudolf (II) and Hugo (both about 1185), Wilhelm (about 1190, later of Asperg and Gießen), Gottfried, Elisabeth (a nun at Waldkirch), and a daughter married to Margrave Gottfried II of Ronsberg. His brother Hugo holds Bregenz (the swi researcher's record).
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia (Rudolf I. (Tübingen)).
Overlord
The duke of Swabia and the king.
What it holds
- Tübingen castle and the settlement below it
- Bebenhausen abbey (the house foundation)
- Herrenberg
- Horb on the Neckar
- Böblingen (not pinned for 1200)
- Gießen and the Gleiberg inheritance in Hesse (hes researcher's ground)
- The palatine title of Swabia
How it was acquired
Inheritance; Gießen by marriage (1181).
Allies and rivals
Son-in-law Gottfried of Ronsberg (Philip's man); the Hohenberg and Calw counts as neighbours. The old feud with Welf VI (1164-1166) belongs to his father's time.
How things stand that morning
Holds his lands on 1 January 1200. Throne war: no charter of 1199-1200 seen; within Philip's duchy, with a son-in-law in Philip's following. Recorded as Staufen with low confidence.
Wealth
The Neckar valley, the Schönbuch forest, Bebenhausen's lands under his protection.
Military
Tübingen castle and the family's vassals.
Places of note
- Bebenhausen abbey: House foundation and burial place.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Family and foundations well known; his allegiance in winter 1199-1200 is not attested in the sources used.
On the map: Core block; scattered lands not drawn.
Primary sources for Staufen
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
23 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.